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This is an archive article published on April 22, 2024
7 members of Karni Sena detained amid demonstrations as Chief Minister raises poll pitch in Vadodara, praises PM Modi
Undeterred by the demonstrations, Patel said there is "an aura" that people have "pledged to elect PM Modi for a third consecutive term".
By: Express News Service
Vadodara | April 22, 2024 05:00 AM IST
3 min read
Members of Kshatriya Karni Sena hold protests, in Vadodara on Sunday. (Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)The number of taxpayers in the country has doubled since 2014 from four crores to eight crores, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said on Saturday as he hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Businessmen and individuals “voluntarily paid taxes” due to the trust they posed in the Prime Minister, which led to an increase in the number of taxpayers, he further asserted. The Chief Minister raised the poll pitch at a Vadodara public gathering amid protests by members of the Kshatriya community; several protesters were detained by police. Undeterred by the demonstrations, Patel said there is “an aura” that people have “pledged to elect PM Modi for a third consecutive term”.
Around seven members of the Kshatriya Karni Sena were detained from outside the venue in Vadodara while they were chanting anti-BJP slogans over the simmering issue of comments made by Rajkot BJP candidate Parshottam Rupala last month. Amid chants against Rupala, the demonstrators were detained by police even as Bhupendra Patel made a pitch for the party’s Lok Sabha candidate.
Speaking at the election campaign for BJP Lok Sabha candidate Hemang Joshi in Vadodara, where Patel also pitched for the party’s Waghodia by-polls candidate Dharmendrasinh Vaghela, expectations around Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term at the Centre were in focus.
CM Bhupendra Patel campaigns for BJP candidate Dr Hemang Joshi. (Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)
Enlisting the “visionary works” of PM Modi, Patel said, “There is a whole list of the works done by PM Modi but for an example, let’s talk about railway electrification. From 1947 to 2014, our country saw electrification of 21,820 kilometres of railway but from 2014 to 2024, the railway electrification went up to 38,650 kilometers… Over 4 crore people have received their own homes and 80 crore people have been given ration. We have the Vande Bharat trains that would make you forget foreign countries… All this is Make in India.”
Patel said that the “systematic administration” under PM Modi had helped the party earn the trust of businessmen and individual taxpayers, resulting in massive revenue earnings.
“With the development projects has come the trust… It has resulted in people voluntarily coming forward to pay taxes. It is because the people have trust in the systemic administration. Taxpayers have gone up from four crore in 2014 to eight crore tax payers in 2024. People know that if they pay Re 1 tax, they will receive Rs 1.25 in the form of the government. Even in GST, the revenue has touched Rs 20.14 lakh crores in the last year. This is the arrangement (of good governance) as this money will now be used for development works. It is a record in the last ten years of the Modi government. Development has happened and it has reached each and every person. In return (PM Modi) has earned the trust of the people… The trust has increased to an extent that ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, people have pledged to elect Modi for a third term. There is an aura…” he said.
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